Al Sadd thump Hienghene Sport to book quarter-final clash with CF Monterrey
Al Sadd began their campaign on a winning note by edging out Hienghene Sport 3-1 after extra time in a nail-biting opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd yesterday.
Abdelkarim Hassan scored from a free-kick inside the box in the 100th minute to put the Qatari side ahead, while Pedro Miguel sealed his team win over the New Caledonian side in the 114th minute after both sides were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time with goals from Baghdad Bounedjah and Amy Roine struck in either half.
The coach Xavi Hernandez side, who are appearing at the tournament for the second time, will next face Mexico’s CF Monterrey, the CONCACAF champions, in the quarter-final clash on Saturday (December 14).
Bounedjah, scorer of winning goal for Algeria against Senegal in this year's Africa Cup of Nations final, connected with a cross to put Al Sadd ahead in the 26th minute while Roine restored parity for the New Caledonian side four minutes into the second half after muscling his way behind The Wolves defense to curl home superbly. Though the goal was initially ruled out for a foul, a VAR review brought about jubilant scenes from the team from the French archipelago in the Pacific.
The debutants started off in impressive fashion, undaunted by their first steps on the global stage. Jefferson Dahite hammered into the side netting before Roine's spectacular overhead attempt illustrated their intent.
However, the predatory finishing of Bounedjah, the match’s Alibaba Cloud Match Award winner, saw him steal in between the Hienghene center-backs and flick home the first goal of the tournament.
The Qatari side were on the wrong end of three VAR decisions, but also squandered countless chances, including an open goal missed by Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif at the end of normal time.
Shortly after Bounedjah's opening goal, Afif had a second Al Sadd goal chalked off for offside following a lengthy VAR review.
Al Sadd had another goal ruled out for offside after another VAR review and Afif's shocking miss sent the game into extra-time where Hienghene's brave resistance finally crumbled.
Al Sadd's converted free-kick came off an innocuous mistake from the Oceania champions’ defense.
The coach Felix Tagawa side were under no pressure when Cedric Sansot rolled the ball to his goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine, who picked it up and conceded an indirect free-kick in the 10th minute of extra-time.
Hassan, the 2018 Asian Footballer of the Year, stepped up gallantly to take up the responsibility, blasting into the net past a wall of defenders from close range before Pedro Miguel capped off a smooth counter-attack six minutes from the final whistle to ensure the home side advanced.
"We could’ve scored three in the first half," he said, "and then it would’ve been a different story, but luck wasn't on our side. We also missed some very easy chances due to lack of focus in front of goal," said Bounedjah in his post-match interview after collecting his award for his outstanding performance.
"We didn’t doubt our ability to win today as we controlled the game from beginning to end," the 28-year-old Algerian striker added. "They got their goal from their only chance. We fought back and scored the second after missing more than five chances. We were able to kill the game in extra time."
Saturday's quarter-final clashes will see action between CF Monterrey and Al Sadd by 8:30 pm while Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal will be up against African champions Espérance Sportive de Tunis earlier in the day by 5:00 pm.
South American champions Flamengo and European champions Liverpool have byes to the semi-finals next week.
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